406 INANITION AND MALNUTRITION 



Schlesinger ('20) found in numerous German boys during the war period a 

 retardation of puberty in association with the retarded growth of the body in 

 general on account of malnutrition. 



Jaffe ('21) observed that in the normal testis during the first year the semi- 

 niferous tubules are close together, with but narrow strips of connective tissue 

 stroma, and but few interstitial cells containing little or no fat. In victims of 

 chronic diseases, the tubules are separated by broad, mostly edematous connec- 

 tive tissue; the interstitial cells remain unaffected. "Bei padatrophischen 

 Kindern ist das Bindegewebe oft nicht oder kaum vermehrt, dafur sind die 

 Zwischenzellen mehroder weniger stark vermehrt undweisen reichlichen Fettgc- 

 halt auf." Jaffe interpreted this to indicate that the interstitial cells play a 

 role in endocrine metabolism. 



In famine-stricken children 1-16 years old, Nicolaeff ('23) found the 

 weight of the testis and epididymis normal (sometimes above) according to 

 age. No spermatogenesis was found, even in those beyond the age of 

 puberty. Stefko ('23 a, '24) and Maslowsky ('23) noted degeneration of the 

 germ cells, increased interstitial tissue, and frequent cryptorchism. 



Several observations upon the weight of the testes in atrophic Minnesota 

 infants are given in Table 3. While variable, they all are below the normal for 

 birth, and usually indicate a considerable degree of atrophy during inanition. 

 The epididymides, on the contrary, are invariably much above the normal birth 

 weight, apparently indicating a persistent growth in weight during inanition. 

 In 3 cases, the weight of the prostate also appears considerably above the normal 

 for birth weight, or corresponding body weight (Table 3). 



Among the lower animals, the effects of inanition upon the testis have been 

 noted frequently. Chossat ('43), however, failed to include the testis in his 

 otherwise comprehensive study. Voit ('66) found that in a starved cat the 

 testes apparently lost in weight relatively slightly more than the entire body. 

 Manassein ('68, '69) concluded that in adult fasting rabbits with loss of about 

 39 per cent in weight the testes lost 45 per cent. Manassein grouped the testis 

 with the liver and spleen among those organs which lose most heavily on account 

 of relative inactivity during inanition. 



Bourgeois ('70) observed that in various starved animals the seminal vesicles 

 contain no sperm, and the testes appear atrophied; but he gave no quantitative 



data. 



Morpurgo ('88, '89, '89a) found mitoses undiminished in number in the 

 seminiferous tubules of the testis in an adult rabbit at death from 13 days of 

 starvation. He also ('90) found no change in cell division of the testis in rabbits 

 of various ages upon refeeding after a period of inanition. Thus the rate of 

 mitosis in the seminiferous epithelium appeared independent of nutrition. 



Grandis ('89, '89a), on the other hand, observed that in fasting pigeons (1-24 

 days without food or water) the process of spermatogenesis was affected with- 

 in a few days. Probably those cells in process of spermatogenesis continued to 

 maturity, but no new spermatozoa were developed after the 12th day. The 

 spermatozoa remain in the seminiferous tubules, and begin to degenerate and 

 undergo resorption when the loss in body weight exceeds 40 per cent. The 

 spermatozoa suffer most; the cells of the seminiferous epithelium also degenerate, 



